Chimera Master
by ZoologyKaM
Summary: Zelgadis and his friends come across a town with a number of the population being chimeras. Just who is this Master Tochiro and can Zelgadis find a way to fix his body? Then what happens when a disease spreads through the chimeras of the town. Will they find a way to fix it or will Zel fall victim to the disease as well?
1. A Town of Chimeras?

_**A/N: **__Hello people! This story has been sitting on my harddrive for waaaay too long. Check it out and if you like it leave a review telling me so that I'll know that people want it to be continued._

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**Chapter 1 – A Town of Chimeras?!**

"Another day another quiet town. It's so peaceful here." Short, flat-chested sorcerous Lina Inverse stood, shielding her eyes from the sun, out on a grassy hill overlooking a large port city. Her long strawberry blonde hair whipped around her from the wind. "Well you guys know what this means right!" She yelled throwing her gloved fist into the air.

"I hope you're not going to say what I think you are.." The blue stone-skined part-human chimera Zelgadis stood just behind the sorceress. His arms crossed in annoyance.

"Well when it comes to Miss Lina it's not like it could be anything else," Amelia stepped up next to Zelgadis with her usual smile. Her short hair barely moved from the wind but her cape flapped behind her.

"Oh Yeah! Ready Goury?!" Lina jumped up and wrapped her arm around the shoulder of the tall, blonde haired, swordsman.

Goury looked at her as if he were about to go into battle, "Right behind you Lina!" he said. Zelgadis sighed and pressed his hand to his face wishing he could say he didn't know the two smiling idiots that were running down the hill into town yelling, "FOOOOOOOOOOD!" at the top of their lungs.

"Let's go Amelia." He said following after the cloud of dust. The Seirun princess simply nodded and followed along.

XXX

As soon as Lina reached the town she noticed something strange. The town was like any other port town. The docks, where fisherman sold their latest catch… a market place full of traders… even the usual delicious restraunts…! "JACKPOT!" The girl completely forgot that she had just a moment ago thought something was strange, "Goury! This One!" She yelled then ran and burst through the door, the wonderful smells from the kitchen reached her nose. "Waiter I'll take two of everything!" She yelled as she sat at an open table.

"And I'll have the special, Quadruple portions!" Goury added as he took up the seat next to her. The waiter looked at the two of them shocked but nodded and hurried to the kitchen.

Lina was patting her belly as Zelgais and Amelia entered the resturaunt. "Honestly, do you two ever do anything other than eat?" Zelgadis scoffed as he went to sit down

"Zel! Amelia! You guys gotta try this stuff. This place has some great food!" The table where they sat was covered with a mountain of empty plates, as evidence of the delicious food. Lina yelled for the waiter to hurry up with the next round of plates. The rumpled little man ran out balancing plates all up and down his arms and even one on his head. He hurriedly placed his burden on the table then turned to the two new guests for their orders.

He wrote down Amelia's small order of beef stew, business as usual, but when his eyes ran over Zelgadis the pencil fell from his hand. Zelgadis twitched when he noted the man's shocked expression. Amelia jumped up and shoved her menu in the man's face and ordered a second beef stew before Zelgadis could get upset as he always did when someone stared at him.

Zelgadis muttered under his breath, cursing his fate to be stuck with such a monstrous body. Before the waiter had even brought back the beef stews, Zelgadis stood and walked out of the restaurant. There were just too many people staring at him and no matter how much Lina told him that it didn't matter what others thought, he just couldn't stay there any longer. He pulled the tan hood over his head, and some of the loose fabric over his mouth and nose trying to obscure his face, then headed out to look around the town.

"Poor Mr. Zelgadis…" Amelia sighed.

"Aww relax. Zel just needs to stop worrying about other people." Lina said as she continued shoveling food in her mouth. She paused only for a moment to look around at the remaining restaurant patrons. "Though there do seem to be a larger number of people than normal staring at us." All around, everyone in the main dining room was sneaking curious glances in their direction. A few people leaned in to whisper to one another. The hot-headed sorcerous stood abruptly slamming her hand down on the table. "You people got a problem!?" All eyes quickly turned away.

The waiter came out with two beef stews, as he placed them on the table he glanced around the restaurant, "What happened to your friend with the blue hair?" All of them, other than Goury who was still stuffing his face, looked up at the man in curious surprise.

Lina shoved her finger in the man's face. "For your information our friend doesn't like when people stare, and everyone in this place seems to do nothing But stare." The man ducked his head and muttered a small apology.

"I've just never seen one quite like him. It was a bit of a surprise to be honest."

Amelia put down her spoon, "One like him? One what?"

The man looked surprised by the question. He gripped the tray in front of him nervously. "Well… a chimera, of course. That's what he is, isn't it?"

"Yeah it is. But how'd a simple barkeep know that just from looking at him?" Lina shifted her weight on her chair leaning towards the man.

Before the man could respond, Amelia jumped out of her seat. "I'm going to find Mr. Zelgadis!" She rushed out of the restaurant into the crowd.

XXX

Zelgadis wandered through town. With his hood up people weren't staring as much but he noticed the few people that he had stopped to ask about the town had become far too curious, and one was even following him. "Can I help you?" he growled turning around.

The small child he found behind him looked up under the hood and smiled happily. "Wow mister! You're so cool!"

Zelgadis froze. This was never the reaction he received. Cool? Him? He looked like a monster! When the boy saw he was about to get yelled at he put his hands up over his head, causing Zelgadis to be shocked into silence once again. One of the boy's hands was green and scaly.

"What's wrong with your hand?"

The boy slowly peaked past his fingers. He stared curiously at his hands for a moment then held them up to show Zelgadis. "Well nuthin's wrong with em. Why? Do they look funny?"

Before Zelgadis could answer, the boy's mother ran up to them. "I told you not to wander off like that!" she scolded.

"But momma I wanted to see this guy. He's really neat!"

The woman looked up at Zelgadis and did a double take. She said nothing and turned back to her son. "That's no excuse for making me worry. Now get back to the house, right now." She pushed him off towards a row of houses. The boy looked like he was too afraid to protest and ran off. As she stood up and brushed herself off, she turned to Zelgadis to apologize. "I hope he didn't bother you. He's always running after anyone new that comes to town."

Zelgadis simply nodded to the apology. He turned away slightly to hide his face. The woman bowed politely and walked toward her home. Zelgadis spoke softly, "If I may ask… What happened to his left hand?"

She looked back surprised, but smiled kindly, "He was born without one. Master Tochiro was the one who granted him that one. He was only a baby at the time so he really doesn't know any different."

"You let someone warp your son's body into a monster?! What kind of mother would allow something like that?"

The woman whirled back around enraged by Zelgadis' comment, "I don't know who you are but don't you dare insult my son or any of the chimera's of this town like that! You think you're so special because you were able to afford a full body augmentation well good for you! But not everyone is lucky enough for that! How dare you come in here acting all high and mighty!" She advanced on him and her shouts began to draw a crowd of onlookers. It was all Zelgadis could do to back away. "Just because they're not fully one thing doesn't make them any less of a chimera than you!"

The crowd began to form a half circle around them. Zelgadis had been stunned far too many times already, but even the woman's shouts didn't keep him from seeing the muscular man with red scales on his face and a claw for a arm, or the woman carrying a basket, balancing herself on what looked like dragon legs, or the elderly man with a tail curled around his legs.

Zelgadis took another step back, right into a wall. The moment his back touched the wall he leapt skyward, grabbed the edge of the roofing and flipped himself around to land on it. From there he jumped from rooftop to rooftop to get away from the defensive mother. He finally stopped on the roof of a shrine. "Crazy woman…"

He stood overlooking the town thinking, and letting his frustration ebb away into more useful thoughts. "she said chimera… And all those people were…" He thought back to her first explanation for her son's appearance. "Master Tochiro huh?"

"Heeey Zel!"

Zelgadis looked down to see Lina waving at him, Goury by her side. He jumped down and landed easily next to them. True it was something that he wouldn't have been able to do if he were only human but that didn't lessen his irritation at having such a body. "Finished eating already?"

"As a matter of fact, we are. We're headed to an inn now. You coming?"

He shrugged, "I suppose." He walked along just behind them, "hey Lina… Have you noticed anything strange in this town?"

Lina looked back at him with a smirk. "You mean the unusual number of chimeras here? Yeah. After Amelia ran off to find you I asked the people at the restaurant for more information. It was weird the way even common people knew a word from such high level magic."

"Hey, speaking of Amelia," Goury spoke, "You sure she'll be able to find us?"

Lina smiled and waved her hand playfully, "Oh don't worry. I left her a note back at the restaurant telling her which inn we were headed to."

It was all well and good to know his friends were safe, but Zelgadis was anxious to know what Lina had learned, "So… Did you find out who Master Tochiro is?"

"Yeah, he's a sorcerer who lives in that large mansion on the hill. The towns folk said that most of the building is a lab where he studies different chimera combinations while another part is the town's hospital. They said this Tochiro guy is the very best when it comes to information about chimeras."

"...I'll catch up with you two later."

"Whoa hang on there, Zel. It's already late, why don't we head there tomorrow?" Lina had stepped in front of him and patted his chest like a friendly gesture, but he could barely feel the fabric of his clothing press down against his skin. The dulled senses that couldn't feel the warmth of a person's touch… it only confirmed his need to return to being human.

"Maybe you can wait but I can't. I've done enough waiting." He pushed past her without a second thought.

Goury readjusted the bag on his shoulder. "Hey Lina, why don't we all go. You can signal Amelia with a spell or something."

She looked up at him surpised, "That's actually not a bad idea. Surprising coming from you."

"Hey now…"

Zelgadis waited as patiently as he could while Lina threw a light spell into the air. It wasn't that he needed his friends to come with him, but rather that Lina would probably get upset if he went on his own after they'd decided to go with. It was five minutes before Amelia few down to them, and the sky was already dark.

"Sorry I took so long." She looked nervously at Zelgadis. He just scoffed and turned away.

"Great. Now that she's here can we get going?" He walked down the street without a second glance.

Amelia sighed and Lina gave her a light pat on the shoulder, "Don't mind him. He's just anxious about getting his body back to normal." When Amelia looked at her curiously, she said, "I'll explain on the way. Come on."

The lights slowly flickered out in the town as people went to bed, until the lights of the chimera mansion were the only ones left to light their way.


	2. Enter the Chimera Master!

**Chapter 2 – Enter the Chimera Master **

The group stood in front of a large imposing gate. They stared up at the large magical lock. Lina shrugged. "Well there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just come back in the morning."

"You think a lock is going to stop me?" A wicked smile was on Zelgadis' face as he began chanting the words of a stone spiker spell.

Lina quickly grabbed him from behind, putting him in a headlock. "Now hold it Zel. If we just go busting in there we're not going to make any friends." She held his arms as much as she could, despite his complaints, and despite the fact that he was ten times stronger than her.

Amelia further blocked his attempts by stepping in front of him. "She's right Mr. Zelgadis, besides, breaking into a hospital just wouldn't be right."

"Well who said I care what's right? I-" His arguments were drowned out by a man's yells.

"MASTER TOCHIRO!" A tall man with a muscular build ran up and began banging on the gate. In his panic he didn't even notice the group standing beside him. "MASTER TOCHIRO PLEASE WAKE UP!"

A sound like a yawn emanated from the lock. "Sheesh you people are noisy tonight. Maybe we need to rethink the spell on that lock. What do you need?"

"It's my daughter. Something's wrong! She woke up complaining of a stomach ache and collapsed in pain! Please you have to help her."

"Mr. Yamato?" There was a small sound of rustling. "Alright. Just wait for a moment." The voice still sounded half asleep and a thud and crash came from the lock a second later. After two minutes of silence a short figure emerged from the house carrying a thick case. The person ran up and waved a hand at the lock.

Lina looked over the small boy. His short black hair was frumpy looking, with an almost purple shine to it. Large round glasses sat crooked on his nose. He was wearing a standard dark blue sorcerer's robe with grey gloves and boots. "Are you this Tochiro-guy's assistant?" She was still hanging onto Zelgadis who was beginning to turn even bluer in the face than was normal for him.

"A-ir…"

"Woops sorry Zel." She said letting go.

The boy looked up at them, clearly barely awake, and muttered something inaudible. He turned toward Yamato, "Where's your daughter?"

"Back at the house."

"Hold it." Zelgadis yelled when the man and boy started to run off. "We need to speak with the sorcerer Tochiro." The kid looked back at Zelgadis and his eyes went wide; he let out a low whistle. He looked about to say something but the man spoke out reminding of his daughter who was at home in pain.

The boy nodded and smiled back at the group. "The spell for the lock is Membuka kuci. Go ahead and wait in the main lobby. Just don't touch anything," and without another word he ran off with the man.

Lina had no trouble letting them all in. The candles were out but a simple light spell fixed that. The large front room was lined with furniture, benches and chairs surrounded tables and one corner of the room had several softer-more-expensive-looking couches. Any wall space that didn't have a bench against it was lined floor to ceiling with books.

Barely ten minutes had passed before Lina got bored of waiting. "I thought the kid said not to touch anything," Goury asked as Lina and Zelgadis started looking through some of the bookcases.

Lina shrugged, "A couple of skilled sorcerers like us? I doubt they'd have any objections to letting us read a little."

Zelgadis was already pulling out his third book, examining each then placing them neatly back on the shelves. "Every one of these books is about chimeras." He pulled another one randomly from the shelf and confirmed his thoughts. "There are books from all over the world here."

"I'm with Mr. Goury on this one, guys. You two really shouldn't be messing with those books."

"Oh lighten up you two."

"You really should listen to your friend you know." The four of them spun around see a woman sitting in the open window. She wore a knee length, plain-looking dress. Any of her body that wasn't hidden by the dress was covered with fur and a long lion's tail flicked at her side. They could see the sharp teeth in her mouth as she hissed at them. "Who are you people and how did you get in?"

"Oh well you see a child out front told us the spell for that big lock on your gate. Said if we waited we could speak to Master Tochiro."

The woman's hackles dropped and she lowered herself down to the floor. "What kind of people come to a magical laboratory after dark? You'll forgive me if I don't trust you."

Zelgadis scoffed and turned his attention back to the shelves. His hood and scarf still hid his face. "And you'll forgive us if we don't really care whether you trust us."

"What?! How dare you!" The woman bared her claws and leaned back into a fighting pose. Zelgadis flung his cape out of the way and grabbed his sword.

"Oh lay off them Hina." Everyone paused when the young boy's lazy and tired yawn came through the door. He pulled off his cloak and tossed it onto the floor. "And you," he stared straight at Zelgadis, "Put that sword away. I don't want any more patients tonight." Zelgadis huffed and took his hand off the hilt. "Oh and sorcerous, put those books down. You're out of your league."

"What?! Hey now!" Goury grabbed Lina before she could get upset for having her sorcery insulted.

The boy ignored her and walked over to Zelgadis. He began to circle him like a curious puppy. "On second thought, maybe you're not. This is some amazing work here."

"Huh? Work?"

"Yeah, I'll definitely give you some good recommendations for this one."

The circling was irritating but a child talking like a teacher was ridiculous. As the child passed his right hand again, Zegadis reached down and grabbed the back of his fitted white shirt, lifting him into the air. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!"

"Look kid, I don't know who you are but we're here to see the man called Master Tochiro. There's an important matter I must discus with him."

"You Bone-head! I AM Master Tochiro!" The kid kicked around, and swatted at Zelgadis' hands, trying to get loose. There's no way that a child is a skilled chimera sorcerer. He can't be more than 9 years old. "Put me down!" Over by the window the chimera woman Hina burst out laughing. "Shut it Hina! Get him off me!" Zelgadis saw no point in letting the woman intervene and simply released his grip. The boy fell to the floor landing on his bum. "Ow! You jerk!"

Tears filled the little boys eyes. He jumped up and ran to Hina. She just laughed and pet his head almost like a mother would. Seeing that, Zelgadis actually felt bad. He didn't intend to make the kid cry. Even Lina and Amelia were giving him a cold look. "For goodness sake, all I want to do is talk to Tochiro."

Hina smiled and continued patting the boy's head, "Come on hun, the master is needed."

"I don't like him." He buried his face in her shirt.

"Oh but he's so cool looking." She pushed, " come on, what's he made of?"

The little Tochiro made a pouty face but nodded. He went over and pulled on Zelgadis' arm. He still wasn't buying it but Zel gave in and knelt down to the child's eye level. The kid circled him again. He used a magnifying glass to examine Zel's skin, eyes, ears, and hair. The more he looked at, the more interested he became. When he finally stepped back he had a bright smile on his face.

"Golem, Human, Demon. A powerful combination that would have taken a master to combine them so completely. It's a perfect fusion, with complete mixing. Increased strength, physical durability, magical prowess, sight and hearing become more powerful, but touch becomes dulled. Heart rate should also have increased. No change in appetite. Age of creation, I'd say… maybe 10 years ago?" Zelgadis's surprise was his answer, "Age prior to alterations, 17 years."

"No way Zel! You're 27?"

"His growth rate was severely decreased, so he won't appear to get older for a long time. That can happen when a demon is used in the materials." The kid spoke so matter-of-fact, but how could he possibly know all of that just from looking? Zel hadn't even told Lina or his friends about the increased heart rate or how old he was. How could a child know this!?

"That's enough! How can you know all that?" He got to his feet and swung his arms back showing his frustration.

The kid pushed up his glasses, "I told you. I'm Glenar Tochiro. I've created over five thousand chimeras and studied many more." He thought about it for a second, "though… I'll admit I've never seen one quite as perfect as you."

"Umm… Mister Glenar?" Amelia spoke up from the back of the room. Her face showed her worry. "What kinds of Chimeras do you make?"

"Well I've done some animal combinations but lately I've been focusing on the human combinations."

Zelgadis couldn't take it anymore. "In other words you make freaks!"

Hina growled angrily, "Who you calling a freak!?"

"Come on, Zel, calm down a second."

"No Lina." His eyes never left Tochiro. "How many of those people understood what you were turning them into?! Did they know how the combinations would affect them? Did YOU even understand that?! Or were they just your experiments!" _People don't just CHOOSE to be turned into a monster! If someone knew what becoming a chimera would do to their mind… NO ONE WOULD CHOOSE THAT! _He wanted to punch or break something so badly… but all he could do was clench his fist and hold himself back.

"Mister Zelgadis…"

Tochiro said nothing. He just looked at Zelgadis. What was that expression? Regret? No… Something else. "What kind of child makes chimeras?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"WHY YOU-"

"But I will say this. Whatever it is you want, if it deals with your body, I'm the only one that has a chance of helping you. No one knows as much as me." Tochiro sighed and pushed up his glasses again. "You can either explain it calmly or you can leave."

_This kid!_ _Why is he so cocky! A child Can't understand!_ Zelgadis punched his fist into the wall. His cape swooshed behind him and he stormed out the door.

"Mister Zelgadis!"

"Amelia, Leave him alone for now. I have a few questions for you, Master Tochiro."

Tochiro walked over to one of the couches and gestured for the others to do the same. "First I want to know his story. Then I'll answer whatever questions you may have." He said when the others sat down.

"Well to start, I'm Lina, that's Goury, and Amelia. The guy who stormed out is Zelgadis. He's why we're here." She said as if that wasn't already obvious. "Zel's had it rough." Lina wondered how much she should tell. There's no way the Zegadis would just walk away from an expert like this. But he'd have to cool his head and swallow his pride before he came back. "His body was altered against his will by a powerful sorcerer, and ever since he broke free from that guy he's been trying to get his body returned to the way it was."

"Uh hey Lina, I'm confused."

Of course Goury was confused… when was he ever not? Lina felt like bopping him on the head but instead she leaned in close. "What is it now?" she whispered.

"I was just wondering who'd do something like that to Zelgadis."

She grabbed his hear pulling him in close. Maybe if she spoke right into his ear, even if she was being really quiet so Tochiro wouldn't hear, maybe then he'd actually remember. "Oh you idiot! We fought Rezo back when we first met! Then fought Copy Rezo only a year later! How on earth do you forget all of that?"

"Ow okay, I'm sorry!" Goury rubbed his ear once Lina released him. "Well how come you don't tell this kid who did it?"

"She's worried that I'll be too afraid to work with him if I knew the name of his creator." He'd hit the nail on the head. "Must be someone pretty powerful." Lina stuck her tongue out trying to look cute. Tochiro shrugged, "Whatever. It doesn't really matter who made him. Continue?"

"Oh uhh… Right, well he was trying to find manuscripts of the Clare Bible, but didn't have much luck with those. So I guess he's been getting frustrated lately." _I'm still not sure if he's forgiven me for having the actual clare bible in hand and not asking about it…_ Better not mention that.

"I can see why. Splitting a chimera is nearly impossible."

That caught Amelia's attention, "So does that mean it can be done?"

"Well…" Tochiro paused thinking about it seriously, "I've heard of partial fusions being split apart, with a low success rate. But for your friend…" He shook his head slowly, "I've never heard of a perfect mixing being taken apart. Then again I've also never heard of a perfect human mixing. I honestly don't think it's been done before." They all sat in silence while Tochiro was thinking. "I can't say it's impossible because I've personally never tried. I've never had anyone or thing have an adverse reaction to the fusions so never needed to. I'll have to do some research before I can tell you if it's possible or not."

Lina smiled. "That's as good an answer as we can hope for." She stood and pushed her hair back over her shoulders. "Come on guys. Let's go find Zel and give him the news."

"Didn't you have questions for me?"

"I did but you basically answered all of them just now. I'll get Zelgadis to come and talk to you himself, so you two can figure out the details." It was hard to imagine a child being an expert on such a controversial branch of magic, but heck, who was she to judge. "Don't worry Glen! We'll have him here sometime tomorrow."

**_A/N:_**_ Hey guys! Sorry this next chapter took so long. I had trouble deciding on Tochiro's personality. I've also got a lot of comics, other fanfics, homework, and more that require my attention so updates might be slow. But don't worry! Once I've decided to work on a story, and have a majoritive-ly full plot line planed out, I don't quit on the fic. It will get finished eventually! _

_Till then, comments and opinions of the chapter would be wonderful! If I'm OOC on anybody please let me know!_


	3. The Cost of Research

_**A/N: **Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written anything for most of my stories lately! Gomenasai! I just got spammed with reviews today from one super awesome person and went and worked on new chapters from several stories! Of course this was the only one I finished! Aren't you lucky! Hope you all like it!_

_Remember! Reviews give me motivation! R&amp;R PLEASE!_

**Chapter 3 – The Cost of Research**

"You've got to be joking. Why should I trust a child with something like this?" Zelgadis had been pouting all night and into the next day, not that he would ever admit that. When Lina came to talk to him back at the inn last night he'd just pretended to be asleep. He hadn't wanted to hear what she had to say about this "master" before, and certainly didn't want to now.

"Come on Zel, the kid seems legit, and you've seen what the townspeople are like."

"Any junk sorcerer can make a partially combined chimera."

"Maybe, but not any sorcerer could know what it's made of just by looking." She had a point. Chimera research was as complex as it was controversial. But of all those Chimera research labs he'd been to previously, none had ever mentioned or contained any records of a "Master Tochiro" who did human chimera conversions. The only ways that made sense were if this "kid" was actually a child, like he seemed, or if all other labs disapproved on his work.

"But a sorcerer who purposely makes human chimeras? You expect me to trust someone like that?"

Lina smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She was as confident as always, "Of course."

"Now look…"

"Don't worry. Goury and I will do some digging around town to find out more about this guy. While we're doing that, you and Amelia should go back and see him."

Zelgadis raised a brow, "I understand you wanting me to go, but why Amelia?"

"Trust me," Lina winked. "You're going to want her there."

It took nearly an hour of coaxing, but eventually Zelgadis gave in. Amelia was as surprised as he was when Lina suggested she go with, and after a small lunch they were on their way. "She really is just looking out for you." Amelia defended Lina, during their walk back to the mansion.

"She's pushy as usual." Amelia couldn't argue with that. The whole situation irritated Zelgadis, and he wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was partly because there was a town of people who were all too happy to be turned into freaks, but most of it felt like disappointment. Honestly what had he been expecting? Someone older definitely…

"I know you don't like hearing this from me…" Amelia spoke softly, knowing she'd probably upset him. He just seemed so agitated. "but I've only known you like this. So to me this is the normal you."

Zelgadis glanced back. It's true that he had more friends now than he'd ever had back as a human. He was also stronger, both in body and magic… but… That still didn't make up for the dulled sense of touch, the stiff wirey hair, the stone blue skin and … and everything else! "I don't care. I hate this body."

Amelia ducked her head and said nothing more for the rest of the walk.

The gate was open when they arrived and many people were going in and out. Standing among so many chimeras, some of whom had scaly skin or animal ears, Zelgadis really didn't look out of place. No one even stared at him or gave him even a glance. It was kind of nice…

"Oh hey it's you." Zelgadis and Amelia stopped when Hina called over to them. "Your friend did say she'd get you back here. Looks like she came through."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes but Amelia just smiled. "We're here to see Master Tochiro. Is he available?"

"He was seeing a few patients, but he may be done. Here, this way." The hospital wing of the building was spacious but crowded with people. "We've got 2 sorcerers and 5 doctors who work here, along with a staff of nurses," Hina explained. "Most of the surrounding countryside and nearby towns come here for any medical needs."

It was all very impressive. Hina lead them through a large room with nearly twenty examination beds, some were curtained off, while others were opened so the waiting patients could chat amongst themselves. The second floor had a similar room but it was much smaller and there were rooms for overnight patients, "The hospital staff lives either in town or on the other side of the building." She stopped in front of a door and knocked lightly. "Master? That young man from yesterday is here to see you." The room was quiet. "Master?"

As Hina began to open the door there was a loud thud inside the room. The door slammed shut and locked. "MASTER?!" Hina jiggled the handle, pushed on the door and finally slammed her shoulder into it. From inside the room Tochiro yelled painfully.

"Move!" Zelgadis pushed Hina to the side, before stomping his foot on the door. Hina ran in followed by Zelgadis and Amelia.

Tochiro was standing over his desk with a patient file. He was breathing heavily but looked none the worse for wear. He turned back looking as stunned as the rest of them were. "WHAT'D YOU DO TO MY DOOR!?" He jumped up and ran over. Zelgadis had not only broken it off the hinges but there was a decent sized crack through the middle of the solid wood door.

"Master I'm sorry! You didn't answer and the door slammed shut…"

"So you thought you should break it down?!" He looked up at her then his eyes wandered over Zelgadis. He let out a sigh and laughed, "Oh so HE's the one that did it. I was wondering how you got that strong," he mumbled. "Nevermind forget it. Gimme a second, we'll go to Consultation Room B." They waited awkwardly in the hall for him. When he stepped over the door he chanted a quick anti-theft spell.

"Umm… Master Tochiro?" Amelia spoke up hesitantly.

He smiled at her, "Go ahead and call me Glen, Miss Amelia. I expect I'll be seeing a lot of you two for a while."

"Well… then Mister Glen, are you alright? You look tired."

"Heh… I'm surprised someone noticed." So was Zelgadis. He hadn't noticed. The kid had looked exactly the same as last night. _Is he tired for the same reason he yelled earlier? And why did he hide it? _Glen avoided a proper answer, "I'll be fine. Don't worry. In here please."

Glen ushered them into a wide room with two couches facing each other, with a coffee table in the middle. Hina excused herself to get some tea for them. Zelgadis noticed she looked nervous as her eyes seemed to be scanning Glen looking for something. Glen asked them to sit on one couch as he closed the door behind her.

"Well," He said, setting a small stack of papers he'd brought with him on the table between them, "let's get right to it shall we?" He flipped through some pages till he found what he wanted and turned the contract toward Zelgadis, but held on to the feather pen. "Your friends explained to me what you were hoping for. I'll admit," the boy looked up at him, intrigued, "I am both nervous and excited to take on such a research project."

"Research project?" Zelgadis grit his teeth. Was his condition really just another thing to study for this child? No matter what Lina said, he was liking and trusting this boy less by the minute.

"Of course. After all, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to just go ahead and try and split off your human part just like that. You'd definitely die." He tone was simply stating a fact, further infuriating Zelgadis. "On the other hand, I don't know how long this research would take." For a moment he gazed at the contract. "Or how much it will cost." He slid the feather through his fingers and leaned back, his short legs dangled off the couch. "That's the main issue here." Glen said shrugging. "Funds around here are tight with running the hospital. I can't fund this kind of research myself."

Amelia slammed her hand on the table, standing at the same time. "If it is to help Mister Zelgadis," she said with her high-and-mighty "justice" voice, "I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, will gladly help with the expenses!" Zelgadis smirked and leaned back on the couch. Suddenly, Lina's reasoning made perfect sense now.

Glen froze and gazed up at Amelia. After his previous 'all-knowing' attitude, a goofy excited grin was the last thing they expected. "Seyruun? NO WAY! You're a Princess?!" His eyes sparkled with wonder, "That's so cool!" Amelia and Zelgadis fell silent. The quiet awkward quiet hung over them until Hina knocked on the door.

Whatever had just happened in Glen's head, Hina's return snapped him out of it and his haughty attitude returned. "Well a princess should have plenty of funds, I'm sure we can work something out." He took a sip of his tea. "The next piece of business is your living accommodations during the time of the research. Because these circumstances are solely centered around you and your body, I'll need you to stay in town. I'd be happy to put you up here in a spare room, or if you have other lodgings in town that would be fine."

"I'm not some test subject that you can lock up wherever you please." Zelgadis grumbled. His frustration had abated slightly over the new curiosity of Tochiro's sudden change from childishness to adulthood.

Glen leaned forward with his teacup in his left hand and shifted papers with his right. "It's to your benefit if you stick around. Imagine in a month that I make some huge headway and I need a trimming of your hair to test something, but you're on the other side of the world. That would put a full halt to research till you came back." He looked up at Zelgadis through his short blue-grey hair. His dark blue eyes sparkled mischeviously, "I'm sure you don't want this research to truly take forever do you?"

Zelgadis had no answer so he huffed and looked away.

"So uhh…" Amelia broke in, "How long might Mister Zelgadis have to stay here?"

Glen touched a finger to his cheek. "Who knows? Could be a year, could be ten. I'm not completely starting from ground zero but it's pretty close. There's going to be a ton to organize. Hina can you grab me one of the order forms over there?"

Hina, who had been standing by the wall, plucked a sheet of paper off the wall and brought it to him. She set it down without a word and returned to her former position.

"I'll have to order in some new demon specimens, of course I probably need to figure out exactly what breed of demon was put into your creation. Either way, they'll take some time to arrive. Long story short, this is all the paperwork that needs to be filled out," Glen smiled gesturing to the small stack of papers he'd spread over the table. "If Miss Amelia will be handling the financial burden she should sign all those relating documents, the ones with the red stamp on top," he pointed to the mark as Amelia began looking over the pages. At his words she smiled and began sorting them. "There is a few things that you need to fill out, Zelgadis. Mostly those are liability wavers."

He laughed at Zelgadis' suspicious glance. "Trust me I don't like those forms either. But the Magi Guild requires me to have those signed by anyone I'm working with. I think it has to do with funding my research under the table. They don't want to be held responsible for any mishaps."

"And how often do mishaps happen?" Zelgadis held the paper tightly, glaring up at Tochiro.

Glen shook his head, "Next to never, and nothing has ever happened with a human involved. I never do anything with a human that I haven't tested previously."

Zelgadis didn't like the sound of that previous testing but he made no comments. Everyone knew what Chimera research truly involved, especially what happened in failed attempts. He was still reluctant and asked to hold off on the paperwork for another day while he thought it over.

"Sure, why not? Go ahead and take that back with you. I'm sure your sorcerous friend would like to look at the conditions involved. In the meantime," Glen said, clapping his hands together, "Why don't I show you around and explain some of my current projects."

The group nodded and followed the child on a tour of the mansion campus then out into the town.


	4. Zelgadis Signs the Contract

**Chapter 4 – Zelgadis Signs the Contract**

"Well Lina?" Zelgadis sipped his tea, leaning back on his chair. He and Amelia had found Lina and Goury stuffing their faces at a different, well thought of, local restaurant. He was surprised when Lina had stopped her eating in order to look over the contract that Glenar Tochiro had given him. She had been studying it carefully for the past ten minutes.

Lina hmm'd to herself, flipping back to a previous page. Finally she set the paper on the table. "Well it's a basic sorcerer's contract. The conditions are that you remain in the town to assist on the research, and he provides food and shelter for you unless you choose otherwise. Beyond that, there's stuff about what kind of research is permitted to occur on your actual person, mostly this includes skin and hair samples, and bans anything life-threatening until both researcher and subject feel they have conclusive data to make any sort of physical transformation."

Zelgadis nodded. He'd read it several times himself. The main reason he'd given it to Lina was to see what she thought of it.

"As far as I can tell, this seems to be a fair contract; and a safety conscious one, at that." She handed it back to him and picked up a breaded turkey leg that she'd already swiped from Goury once. "If Amelia is willing to foot the bill then I'd say go for it."

"But to be stuck in this town for a year or more? And what makes you think that this child knows what he's doing?" Even against his arguments, Zelgadis knew he would probably end up signing the contract. Lina was right; this was a very good chance to get his body back to normal.

"Look Zel, I've been asking around town and everyone has nothing but good things to say about that kid. The only weird thing is that they talk as if he'd been around and doing this for years."

"He talks like that himself," Zegadis touched his chin thoughtfully, "I suppose he could have an extended life span similar to Rezo…" But Rezo had grown into adulthood before ever learning such advanced magics. There had to be some reason why a child knew so much about such a taboo form of magic. He definitely couldn't take the kid at face value, that's for sure.

Lina just shrugged, "Who knows? Either way I still say you try it."

Zelgadis sighed, "Did you see anything in there about what will occur if I break the contract?" He'd looked himself but had found nothing within the pages.

Lina shook her head, "Nothing. I suppose if you break it, then that just means that all research will end. As long as you stay in the town and Amelia pays for the supplies then I assume it will continue." Lina looked up towards the door, "Speaking of Amelia," she smiled watching the high-strung princess walk into the building.

Amelia looked down as she crossed the room to her friends. She should be happy that her father had agreed to fund the research, but something about all this had her stomach in knots. It was probably that she liked Mister Zelgadis the way he was. She shook off the thought, patted her cheeks, and smiled in the last few steps to the table. "Daddy say's its fine."

Lina looked up surprised. "How'd you get a message to Phil that fast?"

"Actually it was Mister Glenar. He pointed me to one of the sorcerers working at the hospital who knew how to do a communication spell." Amelia scratched her cheek thinking about it, "actually Daddy was kind of surprised when the spell just popped up in front of him."

Lina's smile grew wider and more mischievous. "Sounds like a handy spell. Tell ya what Zel, now that you've got the money issue sorted out, I think Goury and I will head up to the mansion with you so you can give Glen the good news." Goury looked up from his plate of noodles when he heard his name.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, "You're only coming so you can ask about that spell." Lina shrugged but didn't deny it. Whatever, the reason didn't really matter anyway. This was probably the last time he was going to see them all for a long while. When they'd reached the town, they'd already been on their way to find a ship to take them back towards Seyruun. Amelia had to get home and it wasn't like Lina to hang around one town for too long. "Fine," he sighed getting to his feet.

The group paid their bill and started the long walk uphill to the mansion.

XXX

"So have you made your decision?" Glenar asked when they found him in the main room of the hospital. He was using a healing spell on a woman's arm, which looked to have been transmuted with some sort of lizard. Slowly, under the restoring light, a number of bent and broken scales returned to their proper places. The woman smiled as the pain subsided.

Zelgadis watched, without answering. That healing spell looked like it had been tailored specifically to repair those scales. Not a drop of magic was wasted. The boy's skills were highly advanced.

Once the woman was fully patched up, she thanked Glenar and left to speak with the nurses. Glenar hopped off the high stool and motioned for Zelgadis to follow him. "It's not that I can't give you more time to think about it," he said, "but what you're asking of me could take years from both our lives. The sooner we get started the better."

Zelgadis looked over where Lina, Goury, and Amelia were talking with one of the hospital sorcerers, "I just have one more question for you." The two of them continued walking out the back doors to the courtyard. Glenar stretched his arms over his head, then smiled, waiting for the question. Zelgadis felt hesitant to continue because the answer was meaningless to his decision. He'd still sign that contract before the day was over. "How much of this town has been turned into chimeras?"

"Contrary to how it seems, not even twenty percent of the people here are chimeras. I only take on emergency cases. Considering your opinion on the subject my guess is you've only noticed the number of people with augmentations, rather than the number without them." Glenar turned back and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm not using them to further my research. I'm researching to further their lives."

"How old are you?"

Glenar laughed, "I thought you only had one question." He shrugged and shook his head, "Unfortunately I'll have to leave that one unanswered. For now anyway." His grey sorcerers coat floated in the breeze behind him. "Do you have an answer?"

Zelgadis sighed, "Alright then, Tochiro, I'm in."

Glenar smiled, "Great. I just need to add one more condition to the research."

"And what would that be?" Zelgadis asked, his eyes narrowing.

Glenar reached out his hand to Zelgadis. The child was barely half his height and held his arm straight to make a handshake easier. "If we're going to be working together for a long time, you should call me Glen." Zelgadis smiled and returned the handshake.

"Lina calls me Zel. You can also if you'd like."

Glen smiled brightly. He gripped Zelgadis' hand tightly and pulled him around back towards the door. Zeldadis found himself dragged all the way to a fresh copy of the contract. Once Lina had finished learning her newest spell, the group headed back to the in for a night of laughing and drinking.

XXX

Amelia stared, sadly, at the ground. Beside her, Lina excitedly discussed her plans for the next month with Zelgadis; something about checking out an ancient ruin she'd heard about from some of the townspeople. The group was waiting for Amelia's ship up the coast. If all went well, and the royal caravan was waiting for her when she reached the next port, she'd be back home within the week. And it's not like she wouldn't be able to speak with Zelgadis, after she'd practiced the communication spell a few times. So why did she feel so uneasy?

"Earth to Amelia! The captain said you're boarding now."

Amelia snapped to attention as Lina's hand waved in her face. "Huh?... Oh… Right." She picked up the small bag filled with documents from Glenar, to be given to the palace accountants. "Goodbye everyone," she said with a smile on her face, "I hope we'll all meet again real soon."

Zelgadis and Goury smiled, nodding. Lina laughed and pat Amelia on the head, "Of course we will. Before you know it we'll be coming back to save Zel here from the boredom of research." Amelia giggled and agreed. Zelgadis turned his head away to hide a blush.

They stuck around the dock until Amelia's ship had vanished from sight. The moment it crested the horizon Lina nudged Goury. "Well, I guess that's our cue. See you later Zel. Let's go Goury."

"Yeah." Goury waved at Zelgadis, as Lina took off running. "Good luck with the research stuff." He smiled then took off after Lina. Zelgadis chuckled to himself. Those two never changed. They were always in a hurry to their next adventure.

With nothing better to do he headed back to the mansion. Hina greeted him at the gate and showed him to the spare room, separated from the live-in worker's rooms, which had been cleaned for his use.

It was a small but comfortable room. A nightstand with a sorcerer's crystal lamp stood beside the bed which was covered with a simple scrap-fabric quilt. The desk was positioned under the window to best take advantage of the daylight. In the corner stood a wardrobe which, upon further inspection, he found had a key hanging from its lock. Not that he really had any valuables to keep there. Everything he had could be carried easily.

"We've got the basics here," Hina said. "But if there's anything else you need feel free to let me know." Zelgadis nodded. "Everyone who's not a patient picks up after themselves, and the bath is at the north annex. Women bathe at 9, Men at 10. And don't try sneaking in when the women are in there, I'll knock your block off." She spoke teasingly

Zelgadis blushed, and cleared his throat, brushing off the last comment. "This room should be fine thank you."

"No problem. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about the hospital or the town." Hina turned to leave but Zelgadis called her back.

"Actually," he said, "I do have one question. I don't mean to sound rude but could you tell me why you chose to become a chimera?" He knew his question could be hurtful. At least to him it sounded completely insensitive, but Hina simply smiled.

"I contracted some disease that ate away at my skin. Sorcerers would heal me but then it would come back. Doctors couldn't find a way to cure me. It was so painful." She clutched the fabric of her skirt as if reliving the agony. After a moment it passed and she relaxed again into a smile. "Then Master Tochiro came to my family and said he knew of an animal that was resistant to the illness I had. He told me he could change my skin to be that of the animal and the disease would go away."

"And? Did it work?"

Hina nodded. "Sure I may look different, but I can finally live again. My family worried I couldn't find a husband or work looking like this but the Master gave me a job, and I've even found a boyfriend in this wonderful town. Becoming a chimera is the best thing that could have happened to me."

Zegadis pondered this. He knew there were ups and downs to such a change, but for her to be completely grateful? _Well… hers sounds like a special case, with that disease. I highly doubt that everyone else feels the same._ He thought, trying to convince himself. "Alright. Thank you, that's the only question I have for now.

Hina smiled and excused herself. Zelgadis sat down at the desk staring out the window. It was a nice view; the port spread below the mansion like a picture in a frame. With the warm sun on his face, Zelgadis quickly found himself nodding off.

* * *

_**A/N:** Hey guys! sorry I took so long with this chapter. Stuff's been busy. I'm going on a bit of a writing tare, returning to old stories, working on half-finished chapters. I'm having a lot of fun as this school semester comes to a close. I hope things are going well for you all, and really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully a new one will be done before long but I wouldn't count on it. I won't be quitting this story though. I like the idea too much to give up on it, so there will definitely be more chapters, even if it takes some time. _

_Thanks for reading! Review and let me know what you thought of it!_


	5. Who is Tochiro?

A/N: Hi guys! So I've been working hard to update all my stories. Some are easier than others. Don't give up on me! I hope you enjoy a bit of cuteness in this chapter. Things should move faster... or maybe not... My stories are never fast paced enough I think. Hope I'm not boring you all. R&amp;R please!

* * *

Chapter 5 – Who is Tochiro?

Zelgadis awoke thanks to a thud and the sounds of rustling fabric. Instinctively he stood and swung his hand out to the open room, ready to cast a spell. Normally he'd reach for his sword as it caused less of a mess, but it didn't really matter anyway since the room was empty, and he didn't even sense the presence of anyone. Zelgadis stood straight and scratched his head, "Was it just my imagination?"

There was a knock on the door. He moved to answer it while still keeping his eye on the room.

Hina smiled as the door swung open. "Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Master?"

Zelgadis shook his head. "Sorry no."

Hina sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Darn it, and I was certain he was headed this way." She sighed again. "Little scamp. Every night he does this."

"He ran off?" Zelgadis inquired.

Hina nodded, "Same time every night, the instant I mention a bath, he's gone." Zelgadis nearly toppled over hearing the ridiculous situation, but Hina didn't seem to find anything strange, "I swear it's like clockwork. Anyway," she turned away, "If you see him could you grab him for me?"

"Uh… sure."

"Thanks." She jogged down the hallway to search the remaining rooms.

Zelgadis watched after her for a moment. "He doesn't like baths? I don't get it. He acts mature," he muttered to himself, closing the door, "then turns around and does something so childish it makes me wonder if he's really a sorcerer at all."

"Well that's rude." The voice came from inside the room and Zelgadis whipped around, ready with another attack spell. Glen poked his head out from under the bed. "I'm a great sorcerer. I just don't like baths." The kid pulled himself out from under the bed then trotted up to Zelgadis smiling happily. "But wow you sure saved me, tricking Hina like that."

Zelgadis lowered his hand slowly, raising a brow in annoyance. "I didn't do it for you. I didn't know you were in here."

"Really! You didn't?!" Glens eyes sparkled and he pumped his fists in the air. "That means I'm getting better at hiding my presence! Hurray!" His excitement froze and he quickly pointed a finger at Zel. "Just because I'm sometimes not good at hiding my presence doesn't mean I can't do cool things with chimeras," he declared.

"Now look…" Zelgadis groaned. Even if he said so, that attitude didn't instill him with much confidence.

The door banged open, "Got you!" Hina dodge around Zelgadis and snatched Glen up in her arms. Poor little Glen struggled but couldn't fight against the determined woman. "Dinner's almost ready so we need to hurry." To Zelgadis who was shocked by her sudden entrance, she smiled and said, "dinner will be ready in an hour. The cook makes something different each night for Glen. We figured you could dine with him tonight, or in your room if you prefer. Just head downstairs and let the cook know which you would rather."

Zelgadis nodded. His eyes were on the child who was supposedly going to help him. Glen hung limp in Hina's arms, a pout across his face as he was carried away to be washed. Zelgadis scratched his head. "What exactly have I gotten myself into…?" He muttered.

While he waited he wrote a letter to a contact he had in one of the magical guilds. He wouldn't call the person a friend but he knew them well enough to trust their word. The individual was good at research and in his letter Zelgadis requested more information about Glenar Tochiro. He had just finished writing when there was a knock on the door.

"Zel?" It was Glen. "Dinner is ready. I was hoping we could discuss the first steps of research while eating." His voice was back to that haughty tone he'd had when they first met. Zelgadis capped his ink and wiped off the pen tip. Glen gave him a calm smile when he opened the door. "Oh good, I was worried you had gone out." He pointed down the hallway. "Come. I asked them to bring the meal to the conference room."

Glen led Zelgadis to a different conference room from prior. This one had a full sized table and a number of fine-looking chairs surrounding it. "Normally this room is used for meetings with my sponsors, but it's the only one with a full table," Glen explained as they entered.

The meal was already set out for them. Nothing extravagant, just a basic soup broth with a good amount of noodles in it. Glen took a seat at the end chair which was made a bit taller than the rest, probably so that he could see over the table, and immediately started eating. Zelgadis sat next to him on the long side of the table where the second bowl had been set, but rather than digging in he closed his eyes and ran through his usual list of spells to check for poisons or drugs in the food. It was rare that any food actually reacted, but it was better safe than sorry.

When he'd finished he noticed Glen staring at him with a bit of a smirk. Zelgadis growled in annoyance, "Can I help you?"

"I don't blame you for being worried about poisons, but our food came from the same pot, and besides, there's no one around here who would do something like that." Glen shrugged, "But I guess it's better safe than sorry," then slurped up a noodle. "Oh right, I almost forgot," he said turning in his chair to face Zelgadis, "I wanted to apologize for earlier." He said, a blush filling his cheeks. "No doubt my behavior at the time was startling to you; I'm sometimes like that when I'm tired."

_When you're tired? _Thought Zelgadis. His skepticism must have shown on his face because Glen laughed. "Yes I know it sounds strange. If you'll recall I was a bit like that on the night we met as well."

"Now that you mention it." Zelgadis fiddled with his spoon; stirring it he stared at the rising steam. The intelligent child just got stranger the more Zelgadis learned about him. But the child-like side definitely made him nervous. "Do you ever work on your research while you're tired?"

Glen slurped his soup, "Well projects do sometimes blend the days together," he said matter-of-factly. "Of course that's only in the research aspect. I'd never perform any spells or transmutations while drowsy. I'm sure you can agree that being well rested is best for every sorcerer."

The memory of a half-asleep Lina popped into Zelgadis' head. The red-head was volatile enough when fully awake. He nodded, "Point taken."

Glen smiled. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, about tomorrow's schedule. I'd like to give you a standard physical. Height. Weight. Blood pressure. Oh and of course I'll have to gain an understanding of your physical and magical capabilities. Just some basic things, but it's all absolutely necessary data." Zelgadis nodded. "We should be able to get that all done tomorrow as long as we start early. I'll ask the cooks to set out an early breakfast for us."

Zelgadis listened as the child rattled off all the preparations that were needed; every detail, down to the potential that they might have to head up the mountain to avoid damaging anything while getting a gauge of Zel's strength, was accounted for. From the sounds of it, tomorrow would be busy, and very likely every day after that.

Glen put down his spoon and covered up a burp as he finished both his meal and his explanation of the next day's schedule. "Delicious as always. What'd you think Zel?"

Zelgadis looked down at his meal. The food was good but to be honest he was still hungry. He'd have to talk to Hina about the portion sizes. For some reason it felt too embarrassing to complain to Glen. It seemed odd that Glen, being a renowned sorcerer, didn't have much of an appetite. Typically, the stronger a person's magic ability, the more food they had to consume. Lina was the perfect example of this.

"It was good."

"Well that's good to hear." Hina opened the door pushing a cart with a large covered platter on it. "Hopefully the second course will stand up to the first," she said transferring the platter to the table and lifting off the cover. The platter had a full large roasted bird on it.

Glen looked at her skeptically. "I hope you weren't standing out there waiting for us to finish."

"And let the food get cold? Oh believe me I would have interrupted you. I know how hungry you sorcerers can be." She winked at Zelgadis as she said this. Zelgadis quickly looked down at his plate.

When the full meal had concluded, both Glen and Zelgadis had eaten their fill and the bird was entirely consumed. Glen leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. "That was delicious. I couldn't eat another bite," he happily declared. Zelgadis nodded and wiped his mouth with a napkin. They chatted for a short while about research and about the town until Hina returned with the cart to clean up the meal.

"Off to bed with you now." She told Glen as she gathered up the plates. The young sorcerer rolled his eyes and suppressed a yawn. Zelgadis hid a smirk when the boy's yawn only got bigger. Glen sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well I suppose I must." To Zelgadis he smiled, "I'll see you bright and early, Zel. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

Glen left and Hina gathered up the last of the dishes. Zelgadis pushed back his seat and nodded to her on his way out. As he left the room he heard her cough several times, and for the first time in a while he was reminded of Zolft and Rodomir. His servants had always refused to cough or show weakness around him as well, and he wondered if it bothered Glen the same as it always had himself. "Well whatever." He shrugged but couldn't help a smile. "Perhaps I can get used to living here after all."

XXX

Zelgadis woke with the sun, he dressed and went down to the kitchen, searching through cabinets until he found a cup and some tea. He was enjoying the nice hot cup of tea when Glen stumbled down into the kitchen. The young sorcerer looked far from awake, and he repeatedly grumbled under his breath while he got himself tea and some slices of ham and cheese for breakfast. Zelgadis said nothing and went back to reading the book on advanced chimera formulation that he'd stumbled on in the lobby bookshelves.

A little over ten minutes passed before Glen finally spoke, "That volume's an old one. A newer copy should be on the shelf left of where you found that one." Zelgadis glanced up from the page and watched Glen sleepily gnawing on a tough piece of meat.

He looked back to the book and picked up his tea, raising the cup to his lips. "Does that one have your signature on it also?" he asked with a hint of snarkyness. Glen didn't even notice the attitude and nodded, "Yeah though mostly in reference to my past works." He pulled the tough chunk of meat from his mouth and squinted at it before putting it back on his plate in defeat. With a sigh, the young sorcerer pushed back his chair and hopped to the floor.

"Well then. Shall we?"

Zelgadis put down his book and followed him out the door, with full expectations of being exhausted before day's end.

XXX

"You've got to be kidding me…" Lina tossed yet another book down from the ladder onto the already massive stack held and balanced by none other than Goury. "Don't you think you've got enough books yet Lina?" he grumbled. They'd been hunkered down in that sorcerer's guild's library for half a day and the pile contained nearly half of a floor to ceiling shelf's worth of books.

"Oh I suppose." Lina sighed. She climbed down the ladder grabbing one more book on the way down, and walked back to the table where she'd begun gathering the journals she'd pulled from the shelves. Everything she could find on chimera makers. Glenar Tochiro… something about that name just seemed too familiar. But why?

Goury took a nap on the table while Lina flipped through book after book. Nothing! An entire sorcerer's guild and nothing! "There's got to be something on him…" She set down the large leather bound book she'd been reading with a frustrated growl.

The librarian of the guild happened to walk by while restocking books just in time to hear her complaints. "Are you having trouble finding something?" he asked.

Lina picked up the book and waved it angrily in his face. "Yeah as a matter of fact. I'm looking for info on a sorcerer to specialize in chimera production with Human bases." The creation of chimeras was always a touchy subject but the moment Lina mentioned human components the man's eyes narrowed on her. "I don't know what you're hoping to find," he told her, "but our guild would never have research material on something as barbaric as that. Now if you would kindly leave, I won't even ask you to restack this mountain of books. You're disturbing the other guests."

It wasn't a large guild hall, and there were maybe only two or three other people in the library, but this was clearly a time to pick her battles. This place wouldn't have the info she needed anyway. "Fine." She huffed, pushing back her seat. "Let's go Goury." Goury sat up when he heard his name, drool still dripping from his mouth. Lina ended up dragging him out of the guild hall.

The librarian watched carefully until they were out of sight down the road. With a sigh he turned back to restack the books.


End file.
